A few months ago, while staying with a friend, I picked up the library book sitting on the table in front of me to give me something to clamp my eyes on while I had dinner by myself.  I could not put it down and found myself still huddled over it in a cold house, hours later, long after everyone had gone to bed.  When I finally finished and crawled into my bed, I was thrilled and haunted by what I had read.  That book was The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

 

The next morning, over a cup of tea, I puzzled over how a book like this had not fallen into my lap sooner.  Being a relatively voracious reader, I know more than a few similarly wired people who are always happy to share work that is beyond the ordinary.  Genre fans, in particular, tend to make a great deal of noise about any new book that really hits the marks.  Looking at the cover, it hit me.  This book was published by Scholastic Press.  I had gone utterly bananas for a book whose deemed target audience was middle school. 

 

Published in September of 2008, The Hunger Games is the first book in what will be a trilogy set in a post-apocalyptic future.  In this version of the future, some unspecified global event has changed the world, and where North America was is now a place called Panem.  Panem is comprised of twelve districts and a Capitol, which is, as you would expect, the governing body of Panem.  Decades ago, the districts had fought for their independence and lost (a thirteenth district was completely obliterated in the uprising and no longer exists).  The Capitol has devised a classically devious and utterly sinister way to continue to subjugate the people of the districts: the annual Hunger Games.

 

The Hunger Games are what would happen if you shove Survivor, Thunderdome, and the Miss America Pageant into a blender.  Twenty-four competitors, called tributes, are plucked from obscurity.  They are made just as famous and glamorous as any person can be; they are primped, pampered, coiffed, and for the first time in most of their lives, adequately fed.  After going to fancy parties and appearing on televised specials where they are interviewed and applauded, the tributes are sent into the arena where twenty-three of them will certainly die.  Some may be killed by the dangers of the arena itself, though it is more likely that a tribute will die at the hands of another tribute.  The punishment for losing is death; probably a painful one.  The reward for winning is a life of unthinkable wealth and comfort for the victor, his or her family, and perhaps anyone lucky enough to know them and benefit from their good fortune.

 

There are two elements that make these games especially insidious.  The first is that the games are obsessively televised, and it is absolutely mandatory for every citizen of every district to watch and to celebrate.  The second element is that the tributes are children between the ages of twelve and eighteen.  One boy and one girl from each District must go to the Hunger Games, every year.  They are commonly chosen by lottery which every young person is required to enter.  The Hunger Games follows the journey of sixteen-year old Katniss Everdeen, a girl from District 12 who finds herself volunteering for the games.

 

The entire story is told from Katniss’ point of view, and her voice brings a color and poignancy to the book that no omnipotent narrative ever could.  The horror of her impoverished existence compounded with the horror of what she must face in the arena is best felt in the first person, and Collins does a wonderful job writing in her bleak but still likable voice.  She surrounds Katniss with a cast of characters that really help to illuminate her strengths and insecurities, as well as shed a light on the fascinating and awful dystopian future. 

 

The book, which was inspired by reality television, war coverage, and the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, spins these diverse threads together in a way that is engaging, transporting, and (perhaps alarmingly) believable.  Suzanne Collins took a basic story that has been used for thousands of years (the underdog gladiator) and made it feel completely current.  Her ability to create a story which can resonate so realistically in a sci-fi environment is why I am hoping that as many people as possible brave the young adult section of the library or bookstore, pass the racks and racks of the Twilight series and pick this up instead.  If nothing else, The Hunger Games shows players like us a haunting snapshot of a hell that could well be inspiring or, at the very least, thought-provoking.